Angel Island
SFX:� Chinese Music
MOGLEN:
In 1938 Thomas Lowe fled political turmoil in China and set out for the United
States in search of a better life. He left his small village, traveling three
weeks by boat and landed on the shores of Angel Island in the San Francisco
Bay.
SFX:� Ocean and seagulls
MOGLEN:
While the East Coast had Ellis Island, where foreigners were known to be
welcomed with open *arms, Angel Island greeted arrivals with *armed
*guards. Casey Lee is Angel Island State Park Interpreter.
LEE:
Angel Island was actually called the Guardian of the Western Gate.
MOGLEN:
Lee
says nearly a million people from about 90 different countries passed through
the Immigration Station during its operation from 1910-1940. The
largest emigrant group was the Chinese, who
numbered around 175,000. But because of the Chinese Exclusion
Act -- a federal law passed in 1882 restricting the amount of Chinese who could
enter the US -- the emigrants at Angel Island were treated almost like
criminals.
LEE:
They were seen as threatening because they were seen as an unending labor
source. and because they worked so cheaply threatening
American jobs.
MOGLEN:
So while paperwork for most foreigners was processed in three days � it could
take *months if you were Chinese.� Thomas
Lowe was detained for three weeks and confined to crowded
military-style barracks.� He was allowed
out only for meals, doctors� visits and short recreational breaks in a yard
surrounded by barbed wire.� His
experience wasn�t unusual.� Lowe�s
daughter, Felicia Lowe, is a filmmaker.�
Her documentary �Carved In Silence� explores
the Angel Island Chinese Immigration experience. She says life at Angel Island
was very regimented.
LOWE:
There were guards at the door and they barred you inside � and you were given a
specific time when you went to eat. So you were treated really like a
prisoner.
MOGLEN:
The mostly male population were also rigorously
interrogated several times before it was decided whether they would be allowed
into the US or sent back to China. While studying her father�s papers, Lowe
discovered proof that the constant uncertainty affected her father.
LOWE:
With each conclusion of each interview, they have to sign their names and I
noticed on one of those interviews, that there was very shaky handwriting � and
it really affected me deeply. Just to see the evidence that it was quite likely
that he was very uncomfortable and probably scared that day.
MOGLEN:
To alleviate their fear, some of the men wrote *poetry � on the walls. In fact, the barracks walls are covered in
Cantonese script � over 200 poems, some in ink, some carved, express the men�s
frustration, despair and hope.
SFX:
Read in both Cantonese and English.
Everyone
says travelling to North America is a pleasure.
I
suffered misery on the ship and sadness in the wooden building.
After
several interrogations, still I am not done.
I
sigh because my compatriots are being forcibly detained.
READER:
Everyone says traveling to North America is a pleasure.
I
suffered misery on the ship and sadness in the wooden building.
After
several interrogations, still I am not done.
I
sigh because my compatriots are being forcibly detained.
MOGLEN:
Daniel Quan is also an Angel Island descendent. He
says the Chinese have a long tradition of poetry.
QUAN:
So, it was more commonplace to know the different types of poetry, how to write
it, and so it was more akin to just expressing your feelings, as if in prose.
MOGLEN:
He says some of the Angel Island poetry inspired other Chinese detainees to
respond with their own poems.
QUAN:
We see evidence of other poems written that allude to the first poem, or are
answers or responses to that, and so obviously people were reading the poems
and had some kind of emotional response to them.
MOGLEN:
And though the men appeared to share their stories with each other while
*interned, once *immigrated, many *never talked about their experience
again.� Felicia Lowe:
LOWE:
It was never spoken of in the home, because I think there was shame attached to
it, that there would be a country that says specifically we don�t want Chinese
people.
MOGLEN:
Currently the Angel Island Immigration Station is undergoing a major
restoration. Dan Quan is in charge of interpretive
elements, like descriptive signs and sculpture.
QUAN:� What�s been done so far is that we�ve
completely restored the barracks which is where all the poetry is and then
we�ve also put together a replication of the footprint of the administration
building.
MOGLEN:� Lowe is proud of the restoration and hopes it
will help shed light on this little known era in America�s past.
LOWE:
We have the most diverse population in America, and we have the most
beautifully crafted ideals in terms of equality for all. And it�s a story
and a goal we chase after all the time. But it�s not without it�s pimples. Those blemishes that defy some of our
ideals are the very things we need to look at.
MOGLEN: By
1940, the Immigration Station closed. The Chinese Exclusion Act was finally
repealed in 1943, mainly because China allied with the US during World War
Two.
AMBI:
Ocean, seagull�s noises, distant sound of the bell, and faint Chinese music.
MOGLEN: Thomas
Lowe was finally released from Angel Island and allowed into the US. He
married, had four children, owned several businesses and lived in America for
the rest of his life.
AMBI:
Music
MOGLEN:
The newly restored Angel Island Immigration Station will reopen in early 2009.
If you want to find out more about the Immigration Station or *all the
recreational activities on Angel Island, visit the State Parks website at parks
dot ca dot gov.
OUTRO:
If you want to find out more about *supporting all of California�s state parks,
visit the California State Parks Foundation website and join our 90,000
members. This podcast was brought to you thanks to a generous donation from
Wendy James.